LONGLEAF PINE. 13 



sleeping apartments. It is made into stairs, railing, molding, 

 spindles, balusters, and newel posts. Church and schoolhouse finish 

 is made of it, and it has extensive use in the manufacture of furni- 

 ture, cabinets, and wardrobes. Various parts of machines are made 

 of it in southern mills, shops, and factories, and the makers of farm 

 machinery and appliances use it in many ways where formerly ash 

 and oak were the only woods employed. In a large part of the coun- 

 try it is so universally used that there are but few places of impor- 

 tance that it does not fill. 



Formerly it was customary for large contractors to specify that 

 the timbers supplied should not be " bled," referring to the prac- 

 tice of extracting crude turpentine from living trees. It was sup- 

 posed that the wood from such timber was inferior. Railroad com- 

 panies frequently excluded such stock. Tests by the Forest Service 

 some years ago showed that " bled " timber is not reduced in strength. 

 The bleeding does greatly increase the amount of resin in the butt 

 of the tree, and this is sometimes found objectionable. Also, the 

 turpentining of the tree does reduce to some extent the quantity of 

 first-class lumber which can be obtained. . 



PAVING BLOCKS. 



The extensive use of wooden paving blocks, treated with pre- 

 servatives to retard decay, covers a period of only a few years in this 

 country, and longleaf pine has been the principal wood so used. Be- 

 fore the necessity for wood preservation and the methods of bring- 

 ing it about were well understood, a large amount of wood pavement 

 was laid in many cities of this country. Of this untreated wood pave- 

 ment there was probably more northern white cedar from the Lake 

 States than of all other woods combined. The unsatisfactory use 

 which such pavement gave led to its abandonment, and treated 

 \voods came in. The hard southern pines, particularly the longleaf 

 pine, were favored by many cities, and in 1909 more than a million 

 square yards of this timber received treatment for use as paving 

 blocks. Some use of it was made long before. Between 1860 and 

 18YO Brooklyn laid pavement of this wood previously dipped in 

 coal tar. The average life of the blocks under traffic in that city was 

 about 6 years. 



Treated paving blocks of the southern pines have replaced other 

 materials to a considerable extent in many American cities and have 

 gained some foothold in European cities. In this country they have 

 been laid in New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington, Indianap- 

 olis, Chicago, Minneapolis, Duluth, and in other cities. In addi- 

 tion, much wooden pavement has been laid between car tracks in 

 cities, on wharves and landings, in coal yards, on bridges, in ware- 



